Family Technology agreements

With the possibility of new devices entering your home and an increase in screen time over the Christmas holiday break, it is an excellent time to create or revise your family's expectations around device use. This can include where devices are used and for how long, where devices go overnight and what to do when something goes wrong. It can include computers, TVs, gaming consoles and tablets.

There are several resources to support you in setting these boundaries.

The eSafety Commissioner has downloadable customisable family tech contract templates for pre-schoolers to primary-aged children. They include discussion points about how to be a responsible user of technology and develop digital intelligence. Click here for more information.

The ThinkUKnow and Carly Ryan Foundation family online safety contracts are suitable for older students and the whole family. Click here to see an example and a blank contract.

Education and Support

Further education and support around devices, apps, cyberbulling, gaming, deciding age-appropriate entertainment and reporting abuse is available at the following websites:

eSafety Commissioner resources

Family online safety in more languages

Guides to popular social medica and gaming apps and websites

Reporting Harm with eSafety Commissioner or

Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation

Setting up your child's device for safety and success

BYOD - Bring your own device - Chromebook for students in Years 4-6 in 2025

A Chromebook is a kind of laptop running Chrome OS, an operating system made by Google. Chromebooks are made by a range of known technology brands like Lenovo and ASUS. There often is not a lot of difference between brands. 

The preferred device is a Chromebook laptop. Unfortunately other makes like Samsung/Android tablets are not supported and do not reliably work with the Catholic Education systems.

You may like to shop around and see if there are student or education deals around or keep an eye out for upcoming shopping events like Black Friday (October/November), Cyber Monday (November), Boxing Day (December), even the January sales.

When purchasing, please be aware of the following specifications:

4GB Memory (RAM) minimum

• 32GB Storage for use in primary school is fine, many will have 64GB anyway
• 11-13 Inch screen minimum  
• personal preference
• please consider the size and weight of the device - your child is transporting the device to and from school each day - not too heavy or large
• consider if the device fits into their school bag 
• At least 8 hour battery life 
• Must have the ability to connect to headphones, whether it be via a port or bluetooth - whatever your student has access to
• Must have a camera
• A touchscreen can be useful for some students (but it's optional) 
• Please do NOT provide Samsung/Android tablets - these are not recommended and do not operate well on Catholic Education systems.
• In terms of price, don't spend too much on the Chromebook. A budget of up to $500 is reasonable. One of the deciding factors in moving from iPads to Chromebooks was the comparable/cheaper price.
• A protective case or cover for the Chromebook is required
• Headphones or earphones are required
• Some students have a mouse (optional)
• Warranty should be a consideration when purchasing a device
• We recommend that you consider adding the device to your insurance policy

Chromebooks do not require active firewalls, or anti-virus and anti-malware software. When the Chromebook is connected to the school network via specialised BYOD WiFi, it will utilise the online security settings set up by Catholic Education. 

The life of most hardware is three years. Please be realistic when purchasing a device, especially regarding cost.